Sugar CRM is opening its platform for better third-party web integration with LinkedIn, Jigsaw and Hoovers through a service they are calling Cloud Connects. The service is part of a broad upgrade launched today that includes features similar to Salesforce.com’s newest offerings. New features include social feeds that provide statuses, alerts and notifications similar to the functionality found in social networks such as Facebook. An improved mobile service gives users a more streamlined experience when out on the road. Sponsor Sugar CRM is a competitor to Salesforce.com , which launched Salesforce Chatter last month. Salesforce Chatter is a real-time, social network for the enterprise that integrates with third-party applications. The new features in Sugar CRM 5.5 are by no means groundbreaking, as a number of companies offer varying flavors of real-time technologies and third-party integrations. But Sugar’s features do offer a comprehensive upgrade that give it more leverage in the market. Cloud Connectors may be the most significant upgrade. It uses web services to connect third-party services such as LinkedIn, which allows users to receive the most up-to-date account and lead information. It reminds us of the new cloud service launched by MindTouch , which

Zoho is now offering full integration with Google Apps, allowing users to access Google Docs seamlessly from within the Zoho environment. It’s another move by Zoho to compete in the big leagues with the giants of the business through integrations that allow for seamless interplay.

Chester French is a rock band that has built an application on the Force.com platform. That’s compelling for the simple fact that when a rock and roll band develops its own application, you know that the market is seeing a far wider adoption than it has ever before. Even more, it’s an important reminder of the advantage of building your own applications over complete reliance on a social network that does not give you access to the customer information that you have developed on the platform. Sponsor Known for its dose of “pop pastiche,” whimsical lyrics and high energy, Chester French has shown enough popularity to get a record deal with Interscope and perform on the same bill as Weezer . Chester French – She loves everybody Uploaded by le-pere-de-colombe . – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more. The band built a VIP application for its fans using Force.com. VIP members receive perks for being on the VIP list. The more they promote the band, the more points they get. Prizes include music and t-shirts. Here’s their story as told by singer D.A. Wallach. It’s an interesting tale about the music industry and how one band built its own application to form direct relationships with its fans instead of being highly dependent on a social network site. It’s a problem that doesn’t just plague rock bands. A hosted platform can be a bit of a trap. Often, you do not own the data. Application platforms may not be as open as we’d like but you own the information and it can be exported .You can’t say that much about Facebook, which is lacking as a business platform simply because you can’t export your own contact information. I asked Marc Benioff about this last week in context to how Salesforce.com is integrating with Facebook. He said it is the individual’s decision about how they want to move their information around. But what is the point of a Facebook application environment if the contact information you develop is locked up? That’s going to be a big question for social networks as more businesses move to platforms like Facebook. Contact information is scattered for most people. An application may be the best answer for companies when developing relationships for commercial efforts. Social networks are becoming important for business but their value is compromised when they suck in your customer contact information but don’t let it out. Discuss

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What a Rock Band Can Teach Businesses About Social Networks

Roambi announced a pro version of its iPhone application this week that syncs with Salesforce.com and other cloud-based services or on-premsie sales environments. It’s a visualization application, providing mobile workers with a pretty cool way to see sales information. Integration is by far one of the most significant trends we are seeing in the enterprise space. It’s a wave, really, marked this week by Salesforce.com and its move to turn the Force.com development platform into a service that makes all of its applications social. Sponsor A good example of this trend are small companies like Roambi that can now reach into the enterprise by integrating with Salesforce.com and other cloud platforms like Google Apps. We caught up with the founders of Roambi for a quick demo of their new pro product and how it syncs with both on-premse applications and SaaS services. Discuss

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An iPhone Visualization App That Syncs with the Cloud